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North Korea accused of hacking South Korean newspaper

The South Korean National Police Agency in Seoul has accused North Korea of being behind a cyber attack on the web site of the conservative South Korean JoongAng Ilbo newspaper. On Wednesday, the authority said that during the attack in June 2012, North Korean hackers modified the newspaper's web site and destroyed data pertaining to its news and production systems.

"The crucial proof is that one of the servers was constantly connected to an IP address of the Joson Telecommunication Company, an affiliate of North Korea’s Posts and Telecommunications Ministry" reported Korea JoongAng Daily. One of the servers was described as being on an identical IP address to one that was used in two prior attacks in 2011, added the authority.

South Korea has accused North Korea of carrying out a series of cyber attacks on the web sites of South Korean government and financial institutions over the past few years. North Korea denies the allegations. A few days before the cyber attack on the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper, North Korea had threatened to stage a "military attack" on the newspaper company and other media firms in Seoul. The threat came after controversial media reports were published about a children's festival in Pyongyang.